Hi,

One thing, that I use with Total Commander.

To print what's insde a folder. for instance: viewing mp3 list or pinctures lists, when you want to have them on paper, or to print it to a CD DVD.

Tks

And another idea, language packs.

Tks

VERY happy to see a renewed committment to PowerDesk.  PD is the best file manager available but it was getting old in the tooth and a numer of isses in ver 7 had not been addressed, EVER.

Synchronize Folders often crashes when comparing folders with a large number of files and subfolders.  This should be fixed in either ver 8 or 9

Right clicking on files/folders often locks up PD8.  Please fix this.

When accessing network folders, on a corporate LAN, it often takes upwards of 60 seconds for PD to open a folder.  This is NOT a Windows or network problem, because Windows Explorer opens the folder almost instantly.

Thanks,  Ben

One more thing:  a better tag editor for my mp3 collection.  The Advanced tab is nice, but being able to edit tags on multiple files at the same time would be great.

Thanks again,

Ben

One feature that I would like is the ability to open a second pane that is the same as the first pane - a kind of "Duplicate Pane" feature. 

Often, I want to compare or move files between folders that are near to each other. To do this, I navigate to the starting folder (often by using a custom layout on the launchbar to get me started), and then open a second pane. In the 2nd pane I then need to navigate through a lot of levels to get to the folder I want. If there was a shortcut key that opened a dual pane that was the same as the first, this would speed up things considerably for me.

Cheers,

Andrew Mc

Right click on Taskbar icon then "Close Window" does not work as per all other applications. The only option is File --> Close or the close button'X'. PD7 was the same.

Windows 7 32 bit.

Ian

1. A cheap upgrade. Having bought version 8, I dont see why I should have to pay a lot more. About $10 max would be reasonable.

2. Updates that work -- unlike the update for version 8 which crashes on my computer with a registry error.

3. I have had problems with Powerdesk with right-click context menus. Sometimes these take so long to appear the program hangs.

You have, in my opinion, basically the best file manager program out there.  I agree with Ben Maltz - thanks for the renewed commitment to PowerDesk.  This product has languished since version 6.

Please, be more responsive to reported application issues.  It has been my experience that PD support is slow and of little to no help.  Every issue I have submitted comes back as "cannot duplicate, have a nice day."

Andrew, 

Can you please give us the specific error message you are getting regarding the registry error so we can have a look at this? I can assure you that we have tested this patch on a bunch of machines and have not seen the issue. Not to mention that support would be driving me crazy if this was a universal problem--they're not. Still I want to understand what is going on here and get it fixed for you.

You can post the information here or you can contact support who will get it to me. I'll make it a top priority to investigate.

-mark=

Mark

I have reported the problem to support and have provided details on the problem on the patch page on this site. I get the same error as reported by someone else. One suspicion I have is that PD8 instals a registry key which may point nowhere and registry cleaners (eg Norton) remove it, thereby triggering the fault with installing the patch.

The program on reporting the invalid registry key then hangs. I have checked this with Ashampoo Core Tuner which shows running processes and there is definitely no CPU load involved, so I have (after waiting for some time) ended the task.

Andrew

Andrew this is interesting...

I'll see what we can do to test that theory here. We of course have SystemSuite which also does Registry clean up and compression and we have not put exception code in for PowerDesk and it doesn't nuke any keys that we are dependent on. 

Still a worthy test--can you tell me what Norton product you have and what version? Also need to know what OS you are running on.

Many thanks

Feature request.  In Detail File List, allow for various separators between each file name, i.e. alternating contrast background colors for each line (lite, dark, lite, dark, etc); dashes, dots, solid lines between each line.

Feature request.  An option to set the background color for the viewer pane.

I would like to see the selection of files go back to the old method.  To select adjacent files, pick the first, then using shift, pick the last.  To select random files, use the cntl key. 

Bill, I just tried that on PD8 and that's what it does.  Shift to select adjacent files and Ctrl to select random files.

I liked PD6. I had several email conversations with the original developer and helped document some enumeration problems in the network namespace. It is very refreshing to me; as several others have mentioned, that engineering and development appears to be dedicating some resources to PowerDesk again. And it is encouraging to have access to feedback from Mr. Manes. I wish that there was some type of "modular" customization for the end user to choose. PD gets larger and larger, slower, and less stable with every version. I wish it was leaner; even at the sacrifice of functions. For a quick example: I have an excellent freeware mp3 tag editor that is approximately 720K. I wish there was a way to have choices for functions to install. I have an excellent freeware ftp client. I have a stable and convenient compressed file manager. I have an efficient and lightweight graphic viewer. What I don't have is an excellent file manager that loads quickly and doesn't use big chunks of physical and virtual ram. I wish PD9 could be that file manager. ;-)

to benhenry ...

I have continued to purchase PD, but I primarily use XYplorer.  It is a good, fast, and efficient file manager.  The developer makes constant improvements and quickly addresses issues raised by the user forum.

http://www.xyplorer.com/

to benhenry ...

P.S.  One thing i love about XYplorer is that is does NOT change the registry.  All program settings are stored in program specific files.

I think modularity is interesting but it does add a lot of complexity to the product in that the more 'configuration" options the product has the more varied the testing and the more likely we will make someone unhappy in the process by us making choices as to what modules are in the standard build and what are optional items. I have come to learn that the PowerDesk community is vocal and care as to the direction development goes. How would you make the cut as to what is optional? FTP is easy.. what else?

I am not sure that I completely buy the "less is more" argument these days. PowerDesk is actually much faster in this release than PowerDesk 7. Sure there are some old tools like SizeManager that needs a kick in the butt (and a redesign!) but overall the product is faster than ever before. We will be working on some optimizations for PowerDesk 9 that should really improve the feel of the product in the speed department.

I am not against modularity -- just not sure if it is the best plan of action for PD 9. What I would rather do is make our ftp client the one you like the best. :)

Mark,

This may sound contradictory to some of my comments, but PLEASE do not remove any of the PD features currently available!  My absolute favorite is the file synch feature.  FTP works fine for me.  It is easy to set options, so I don't think PD needs to be "modular".  I am pleased with the overall performance of PD8.

I would like to see better LAN functionality (it sometimes take PD over 60 seconds to open a folder on my company's network.

I would also like to see a more stable File Sync functionality.  If I try to sync too many files (i don't know what that "magic" number is), the sync program crashes or hangs up.  I use this ALL THE TIME, and find it much more intuitive than other similar folder sync programs.  I would like to be able to filter out files and folders that are identical so that they don't show in the display windows - having these identical files in the display window makes it much more tedious to determine which files will actually be copied, moved, etc.

Mr. Manes: Fair enough. A sufficiently well planned software architecture is indistinguishable from a kick in the butt. ;-)

Mr. Williams: Thanks for the tip, I'll take a look. But since I visited SoftCity and learned that PowerDesk has a direction; I'll probably try again soon with it; hoping it will place nice with Win7 Explorer. Since I haven't figured out a way to uninstall that particular file manager yet. :-)

I had a great deal of trouble installing PD8 and getting it registered and to run. Uninstalling and reinstalling PD7 was something of a nightmare. The current version installed and registered OK.

If it can be done I'd like to retain an old version when installing a new version.

We have been using PD and it's forebears for many years. It is perhaps the program I use most.

George

George,

It is problematic to do that.. we often time have dependencies on third party components we use in the software (SDKs) that get updated by our suppliers (things like file viewers, etc.) and the newer versions of these tools requires an update to how we use them in the code. 

Translation--the installation of newer SDKs often breaks older versions of programs. That is why we have to uninstall the old before the new can go on.

We will work to make the newer versions such that you'll be happy to bury the old version. :)

Hope that explanation helps.

I would like to have sftp as well as ftp.  Nobody uses ftp any more in any kind of secure environment.  Also, it would be nice if folder synch did not blow up so often.

< writing down... secure ftp...>

When yhou say "blow up" on the folder sync are you saying that the program goes to "Applicaiton does not respnd" when syncing a large number of files or something different?

BTW... just saw the preliminary plan for Patch 2.. I think you all will be pleased.

:)

-mark=

No, I don't mean stop responding.  I mean it sometimes throws an error, sometimes windows kills it.  Sometimes PD just quits without other notice.

I have the same issue with File Sync crashing with large file loads. This started in PD v7 for some reason.
However, for some time I have been using an excellent program called "FileMenu Tools".
It adds extra functions to the right click menu one of which is "Synchronize". It can be configured in the UI.
I find the other tools compliment PowerDesk 8 and I use both regularly.

Mark (Manes)

You mention "preliminary plan for Patch 2" and "you all will be pleased". I guess we would if we had some hint as to what is in it. Can you release any information?

Ian

It would be nice to be able to control the size of toolbar, drive and launchbar icons.  Modern large (24" and up) monitors yield very small icons.

Option to automate folder sync.  After defining what should sync with what, allow me to press one button and have all the sync operations take place without further intervention.  Also, allow, via a scheduler, these sync operations to occur completely automatically - sort of the way Windows Live Sync operates.

Add an option to color hidden files/folders a distinct color, as one can do now with compressed files, system files, etc.

I have two feature requests.

1. A more sophisticated Multiple File Renamer.  For instance, let me tag a batch of files, do a right-click and choose Batch Rename.  Then let me choose a prefix or suffix, how many digits, and what digit to start at.  There's a really nice utility called MultiRen that does this very well and it works with Powerdesk.  But since it was written in 1998, at some point it probably won't work with the latest version of Windows, so it would be nice if Powerdesk just did this natively.  MultiRen even lets you preserve part of the existing filename.

2.  I have a request for File Finder.  The contents option is pretty good but it won't search in PDF files.  If I've got a folder with a big bunch of PDF files in it, it would be nice to be able to find only the ones with a certain text string in them.

I'd like to have PD9 play nice with networked drives.  When I click on a networked drive in PDpro8, it sometimes takes 60 seconds before the folder opens on the network drive.  TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

1. A batch file rename utilty allowing some kind of scripting (see batch file rename by Aron Stewart)
2. A  file compare/merge utilty (see IDM Ultra compare/ Araxis merge)
3. A shedulable (maybe scriptable) file synchronise utility (robocopy with sheduler, filesync/cmdsync)
4. A tabbed view for the file list pane. Good old Norton Navigator had this very useful concept:
define a filter or view layout that you store under a dedicated tab of your file view: allowing easy 
switching of view. Maybe your layouts stored as tabs could enhance usability
5. Plugin structure for file viewers, allowing third party parties to supply viewers for DXF, DWG, or any dedicated format
6. A cleanup utility for cookies, history temp files etc. (Ccleaner)

How about the ability to open as many windows as the user wants, with the ability to specify a number of windows to open as a default?

I would like to see you add

1. macro or script ability for repetitive tasks. Example: daily deleting of garbage files throughout the tree (*.wbk, *. xlk, *.tmp, "backup of *.*"). I know there are utilities that supposedly do this, but nothing's as precise and controllable as a script.

2. Updated and expanded file viewer. Current video formats (flv comes to mind), ArcGIS. Please restore .dbf viewer, compatible with its various flavors (fox, ArcGIS, dBase)

Thank you, and let me echo thanks for continuing support for this program. I live in it.

Synchronize folders tool - add a checkbox for each file that is checked by default. Clearing the checkbox would omit that file from the synchronization.

I have been using PD for so long I can't remember when I started, but I still have my Ver 3.0 stored away and have been using Ver. 5 on my XP since XP began. It is automatically in my Startup. The problem is that it crashes so often, and loses its location on the Task Bar, that I hate it.

I am expecting delivery of a new Windows 7 machine so I'll give it s shot. I hope it is more stable and still does all the good things Ver 5 does.

I am not even sure that PowerDesk 8 doesn't have this, but it would be great if it had a really good file compare program.  One that highlights differences with different colors, etc.

Synchronize folders tool - I compare large folders and often, the vast majority of files displayed will not be copied or moved because they are common to both folders.  So, I would like to have the ability to NOT display all the files that will not be copied or moved (i.e., do NOT display a file unless it is unique to the target folder). 

Ben,

Sync already does this.  In Sync, go to the "View" menu and make sure "equal" is not marked.

Mark,

I, too, am one of those long term, esthetically happy Power Desk users. And, like another, it is my most used tool. However with version 8's registration and/or Avanquest's license verification process, I am actively seeking a comparable file manager. As one who 'plays around' with numerous software programs, it's inevitable that unforeseen 'crashes' will occur. In reinstalling PowerDesk8 I am informed that the license has already been registered! True, but it happened to have been on the machine that I am now attempting to get back up and running. To date I have had to contact Avanquest's Customer Support at least 3 times to request a new license, simply to reinstall and use the licensed copies of the PD 8 programs that I originally licensed. I even purchased 3 separate licenses to use on my 2 machines, and they too have been all used up. Believe me, after having your PC 'crash' the last thing that one needs is to have their favorite 'work tool' become inoperative due to the developer's program registration/license verification process. Please look at finding a less intrusive, more convenient, (not less secure) way of setting up your (re) registration system for the next version. Of note, too, is that I was unable to use the 'change serial number' feature under the 'About' as the program would shut down once it informed me that the number of the reinstalled program had been previously registered. If U are going to provide this 'option' please provide instructions on how this could be done.

Mark,

A follow up on the license issue Leroy brought up.  I just purchased an application that does license activation.  The product can be activated twice.  However, there is a menu option to deactivate the license to allow the user to easily install the application on another machine.  The application remains fully installed as a "trial" version that can be reactivated.

I sometimes reinstall Windows and start over.  I'm out of luck with Avanquest products as I get the product already installed issue or I use up another of the 3-pack licenses.  As I've said before, I've gotten no help from your help desk and I get forced into buying another license.  It would be nice to be able to easily deactivate the product before I begin the reinstall process then reactivate it when installed on the "new" system.

Kindest regards,

Gary

hi Mark,

as I posted in an other diskussion, I use PD since Win98 and I use PD5 parallel to PD8 because:

1) Settings are saved at Exit -must be back in 9

2) Preview should fall back automatically to Ansii or Hex (optional) if there is no native viewer available.

3) The font in the viewer pane should be selectable like in PD5. Courier looks like crap.

4) As mentioned by some guys earlier: SYNC Batch processing ala Backup programs would be very nice.

Good Luck

Horst

Thanks for keeping up the development of the product.

The only frustrating thing about it is the enumeration of network drives like Ben describes. This often prevents me from using it for up to a minute and any attempt to push the issue causes it to hang.

Pleeeese don’t release the next iteration until this issue has been fixed.

Regards

Jon

23 May 2011

I share Mr. Foote's concerns regarding the 'hang time' experienced when sometimes moving from one directory to another. This factor is more pronounced when I use the Drive Bar for this purpose.  However my 'greater concern' is that I have received periodic notification from Avanquest that an Upgrade to PowerDesk Pro 8 was available for download. Over the past several weeks I have launched the provided update feature and, after the 10 or so minutes it took for the file to successfully download, I then attempted to install or update my copy of the program. In each instance the following message was received:"The Live Update Module has intercepted an error:Error number 0X5. Invalid Registry Key." And, that ended the process. I was not able to determine how to 'fix' the problem and was just thankful that the program didn't simply shut down, telling me that I was making too many attempts - or something.  This is a fully licensed version of the program and this is the first time I have ever encountered such a response from PowerDesk program. So, in summary perhaps you could either fix this type of occurrence and/or provide information on the same screen informing the User as to what to do next.

Sincerely,

Leroy

PS: In spite of ALL of the frustrations suffered - thus far - this still continues to be my most useful utility, ever, since learning to use the PC. So, to the original developers, 'Thanks' for a wonderful tool.

I love Powerdesk 8! One thing I would like to see is what Cubic Explorer offers when you open the network folder you immediately get the “Name”, “Category”, “Workgroup” and “Network Location”. That is useful information to have on all you Network Devices.

Thanks,

Bill Fritz

16July2011

I would like to see Avanquest add/include a program or license 'DeActivation' feature in future versions of Power Desk. My primary problem with Power Desk is that I am a 'shareware junkie' and am constantly trying out new programs - some with undesirable results - 'crashing', requiring the reinstallation of the OS and files. Other times I have simply chosen to upgrade my Hard Drive and/or my PC. All of these actions have served to impact my 'peaceful' use of Power Desk for, simply managing my files. My greatest frustration (in starting over) is not necessarily with the 'crashes'. It has been in not having Power Desk available to assist my efforts at the beginning stages of the reinstallation process. Since it is the tool that I use most often, its not being readily available is a problem when I am informed that I have already used up my available licensing options.

I have used/depended on Power Desk for such a long period of time until, without it being available as one of the first programs on my PC, I am unable to proceed in  'comfortably' addressing the other reinstall tasks, checks and functions that I need to perform. However had I been able to Deactivate Power Desk, beforehand, I could've easily gone online to Avanquest to verify license qualifications and then reinstall the single use, licensed copy of the program on my PC.

Leroy Williams

PowerDesk Pro Version 9 should have the following:

1. A 3 PC license like SystemSuite 11 and Fix It Utilities has.

2. There should be a 64 bit version, not just a 32 bit.

3. It should be as reliable as Windows 7 Explorer.

PowerDesk 8 is not that reliable on Windows 7 64 Bit.

4. It should be as fast as Windows 7 Explorer, XYPlorer, Opus 10, Explorer ++, Free Commander or Q-Dir. Just try opening up C:\windows\system32 and you will see what I mean.

PowerDesk 8 is the slowest File manager I have tried.

I have been a PowerDesk user since version 4 and version 8 is by far the worst version yet. It was a better program when it was owned by Ontrack.

I would like to see Powerdesk display the special folder icons that are displayed in Windows explorer.  Currently, all the folder icons look the same.

Since Mark and Doug no longer answer questions in the forum "PowerDesk 8 - Preview Release New Build", and since PD8 has effectively been abandoned from any further development (including fixes) even though Avanquest still sells and promotes the product. I decided to move on to this forum to see what's happening in the PD9 saga.

As I see in the musings of fellow Powerdesk users that it's not just Powerdesk 8 that's a problem, it's also in the way Avanquest treats it's users.

I've always used Powerdesk and find it absolutely necessary in how I run my computer daily, so at the present time I use PD7 and either PD6 or PD4 on my other systems.

I have however dropped PD8 just like Avanquest has... since it is dysfunctional software at best but mostly ranks up there in enjoyment and functionality as "SPAM" does.

So now that being said, let's move on to PD9 and a few questions I have

1) When does PD9 become a reality and not vapourware...it's been quite a long time since this product has been talked about... and I know given the fact that PD8 was rushed on to the market and not fully tested, and since you have recieved enormous amounts of critisizm (myself included), I know you don't want to make the same mistake twice....but can we have a projected date....not an actual, but a projected date.

2) Can we get back to basics, as a "file manager", I believe that that should first be the focus of everything this program should be able to do, it's split screen design and being able to view and manipulate files in your system (copy, paste, move, etc...) is at the core, all earlier versions of Powerdesk knew this except PD8 and to a certain degree PD7.

PD8 takes enormous time to open directories with just a small amount of files in it, and having it deposit you into the subdirectory you just created is ridiculous and goes against the norms of folder creation...Fix it

3) Hard drives are getting bigger and bigger with enormous amounts of data being stored on them...(I alone have 11TB on my main computer), this program has to be fast...fast...fast.

We don't have the time or patience for a slow program such as PD8. So that means, the bells and whistles that you incorporate into the program must be lean and mean or don't include them.

I know that might seem like a step back because you want to include as many features in this program to justify it's release but if you release another dud such as PD8 what purpose does that serve.

You have already lost a lot of users of Powerdesk forever to those who've abandoned the product for good and have moved on to other file managers.

You will have a hard time selling PD9 to continuing users of the Powerdesk series (such as myself) since they were burned with PD8. So no matter how you cut it there is a lot of hard work and fence mending to be done on your part.

I remain optimistic since I continue to use earlier versions of the program, I find that even though they are not "WIN7" compatible they do exactly what I want as file managers are suppose to do and do it well.

So here goes nothing, the above questions/ideas/observations have now been presented to you for a while now by users and ex-users and the ball is now in your court...

Not replying to users (as has been the status quo in the past) must end, It does not inspire confidence that you do not have the users wishes/wants/concerns as your chief motivator and the quest for excellence as noted in the Avanquest's mission statement is just nothing more than lip service.

I know the language above has been critical and harse but so is the future of this product, since I am an uber user of this program and would recommend it to anyone except of course PD8, which should be taken out back behind the woodshed and *#%*#*....

I don't want to see this product come to a screeching halt...but this new version is a make or break type of deal, and in a other part so are any future dealings with Avanquest and any other products it may wish to develop or sell. If you release a bad product and don't make it right, then trust becomes an issue.

Trust is what you are selling now... not programs, there are plenty of software programs out there that do relatively everything that your programs do, in various degrees of cost/reliablity/functionality/ease of use.

What you have to do is now is win your customers over with prompt reliable service and products that are as good or better than it's rivals. Even though a product may not be as good, service can fill in the gaps. You can have the greatest software in the world but if you ignore your user-base you are asking for trouble.

So again the ball is in your court...Good Luck

The lack of a comment from anyone at Avanquest makes me wonder if we are just stuck with our useless licenses for PD8 and that PD9 is never going to happen.  I have completely stopped using PD8 because of how incredibly slow it is.  In any network environment it is way too slow to be useful.  I cannot wait two or more minutes to open a directory on a network server.  I know this does not have to be that way as I replaced PD8 with FreeCommander and it can do it in seconds.  FreeCommander has almost every feature that PD has but for a price of zero.  To make me want to pay for PD9 the least you could do is create a usable product. 

Well here we are 3 months later and again we have no comment or commitment from Avanquest regarding the Powerdesk program.

It's strange that a company committed to "Excellence" continues to blatantly ignore it's users.

I spoke 3 months ago about the lack of support, truth and commitment by Avanquest and they have lived up to all of those things.

So since we are getting near the end of the year, I have one more rant before we start the new year...and it's time to give out some hardware for the software.

So today I think we should all nominate Avanquest and Powerdesk for the Zeplinn award

The Zeplinn award is actual award for outstanding achievement in the field of really bad software. For software which is full of hot air.

I also want to nominate them the "Whodat" award for an outstanding achievement in Vaporware for their constant promise but very little commitment to Powerdesk 9. (Note: There is no physical award for this category since of course there is no software to actually give an award to.)

I would also like to nominate Mark Maynes (Vice President of Engineering and Product Development for Avanquest's Utility and Small Business Division) for the "Are You Talking To Me Trophy" for having said less words about the commitment of Avanquest for the product Powerdesk than the length of his job title.

I would also like to nominate Brian Doud (Product Development Manager, Utility & Small Business Division) for the "Marcel Marceau" award for showing the guts that he too can be just as silent as Mark Maynes.

I would also like to nominate Bruno Vanryb and Roger Politis co-founders of Avanquest for the "PT Barnum" award for their steadfast commitment to the bottom line. Inscribed on this most prestigious award is the motto "There's a Sucker Born Every Moment" and when it comes to Powerdest 8 that motto could not represent the program any better.

And so to all our award nominees, I would like to also give you the "Pierre Trudeau" salute on your continuing lack of support for what was the best piece of software you ever sold.

Have a safe and happy Christmas and we will continue this Saga next year.